About the Publisher

Founded in 1995, Bianco Publishing has enhanced the legacy of its role model predecessor, Touchstone Press, a small but formerly prominent publisher in the Pacific Northwest.

Publisher Joseph R. Bianco, author, editor and award-winning journalist, has for decades encouraged many fine writers working in one of the most significant literary landscapes in the country; primarily in Portland, where he developed The Sunday Oregonian’s former Northwest Magazine, which he edited for 18 years.

One of his greatest accomplishments as an aggressive newsman was to overcome reservations in creating the very first book to chronicle the spectacular Mt. St. Helens’ eruption in 1980. Published by The Oregonian, Mt. St. Helens, The Volcano sold more than 250,000 copies.

He has shared a Peabody Award with Portland’s KATU-TV, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by his editor while a young reporter back east, earned an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters given by the University of Portland and received several national journalistic honors for crime reporting. During his editorship of Northwest Magazine he was awarded the Izaak Walton League of America (Oregon Division) Golden Beaver Award in journalism and his magazine received the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith Human Rights Award and the coveted special citation of the national Thomas L. Stokes Award for his environmental series on water, air, land, sight and sound pollution (1969). He also received the University of Illinois Oscar in Agriculture Award. Bianco is past president of the American Association of Newspaper Sunday and Feature Editors.

Bianco came to publishing rather ironically. He had just finished his third book for Touchstone Press, Oregon Rediscovered, when Touchstone ceased publication. He saw the opportunity to fill the gap and publish his own book which became a regional bestseller – as have others under the Bianco imprint.

His subjects are eclectic, but most represent Northwest themes: Oregon Rediscovered, History by the Glass and History by the Glass, a second round, guides to historic Portland saloons, bars and taverns; Portland Step by Step(second edition), a walking guide through the city, and most recently, Oregon Fever, an anthology of Northwest writing 1965-1982.

Bianco’s heritage is seen in Treasures Italian, a travel and cookbook of Northern Italy, and his love for cooking in My Dear Italian Mother’s Peasant Recipes now in third printing currently titled Cooking Italian from My Dear Italian Mother’s Peasant Recipes.

Bianco Publishing is careful in considering a limited number of manuscripts for publication, while also providing advice and editorial and marketing services for prospective writers.

An adherent of the “old school,” Bianco’s long commitment to writers is his hope eventually there will be as many people writing books as reading them.

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